"They refer to us as the foreigners," says a downbeat employee at the Ohio car glass factory where hundreds of Chinese labourers have come to work, far from their wives, children and homeland. But the worker in question is American, not Chinese, and is finding life very different under new management after billionaire Chairman Cao' swept into town to reopen the shuttered, iconic former General Motors factory in 2014.

The film charts a Midwestern rust belt community's journey from optimism at the giant plant's reopening " bringing back vital jobs " toward creeping anger and disillusionment as the Chinese management imposes its strict, exhausting demands on workers and sacks those who don't comply.